Tuesday, May 29, 2007

I'm Back

I took a little break from blogging as DH's grandmother passed away and I didn't feel like writing much. She was very dear to us and we will miss her greatly.

There was a lot of craziness going on so I kind of lapsed in a lot of areas. I need to get back to my earthy roots and do what I can to reduce our impact on the earth.

I got this month's National Geographic and there were some good articles in there about the effects of global warming. It's scary how fast the ice in the arctic is melting. There was a very poignant quote that really hit home. "An Arctic without ice would be like a garden without soil." Of course all that melted ice has to go somewhere.

When we were in the Annapolis valley for the funeral, we went up the "mountain" to visit family. It struck me odd that at the top of the mountain was the ocean. Apparantly the valley is below sea level and the highest parts of the mountain are actually only about 750 feet above sea level, although it seems higher. I also just read a great deal of the valley is already protected from the ocean from a system of dykes. Thus if all the ice in the arctic melts, much of my province may find itself underwater (it's virtually an island with just a small connector to New Brunswick).

Well, that was dreary. I will be back with what I hope to be more uplifting things to discuss. Maybe I should start packing my bags to move somewhere that isn't in danger of finding itself underwater, lol!! (I live right by the ocean)

Friday, May 25, 2007

Lots Going On

I just wanted to do a fly-by that a lot has been going on here, which is why I haven't posted much lately. I will be back soon to write more. Hopefully the craziness is over for a bit :)

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Solar Cooking

I have started looking into solar cooking. I think next week after I have the bulk of the cleaning out of the way, I will make one and see how it goes. They go from very simplistic (a pizza box with tin foil and plastic) to very complex $500 jobs. I'm looking to do this on the cheap so I'll try the pizza box (I have two in the hall closet DH never got around to putting in the compost. I guess I can't complain now!). You can make almost anything in these! I can't wait to try.

My basement has done a miraculous transformation and I'm not even done. I will be putting out a lot of garbage and recyclables this week, plus there is a ton for the spring clean up (May 28th!) and everything we have saved for the yard sale we'll be having, the remnants of which will be given away. I've already sold a rocking chair :). I love simplifying. I wish I could get hard core about it as there's a lot I'm still hanging onto, but eventually I'll let it all go.

We're doing pretty good with not spending money. We have more in savings than I ever could of expected. A few hundred more and we'll be bumped into a higher intrest earning category, woo!!! Plus we'll earn 1000 PC points a month, which is equal to a dollar. I can't wait until those dollars will be buying us our house :D

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Serentiy

Here is a short story I wrote when I was a teenager for a course I was taking. I kind of giggle reading it as it is full of grammatical and spelling errors and I thought it was perfect when I wrote it. I like that it reflects my connection to the earth, even if my spiritual views have changed and matured somewhat. I was going to toss it, but I will post it here first so it will be saved forever.

Serenity


The noise of technology resounded in her head as her feet led the way down the street. Everywhere, noise, hurry, death. if only they could see their grey auras and if only they could see her white one and realize life was about spirituality and not working oneself to death.

People moved without looking around and realizing happiness is not the green in their pockets. Oh, how she wished to scream out against the lack of awareness around her.

She had to quickly stop thinking so much about others and get on track to her own purpose.

Every footfall took her closer to the park, where she felt best to commune with God. She picked up her pace, reminding her of the busy people. At least she had a destiny worth rushing to.

There were few in the park, mostly regulars who came daily to feed the ducks and birds. She exchanged greetings to the ones who were familiar to her. They knew about the truth inside her and were glad for her.

Over to the alcove of trees she went and positioned herself so she would not lose balance as she went under. A warm breeze swept over her as her eyes closed and her mind went blank.

A few thoughts passed through her mind but these quickly ran their course. And she was left in a bliss unlike any other known to man. In these times, all the answers to the questions were known to her. Often, she truly felt the touch of God. in these times she took comfort in knowing all would work out in the end. In these times, time had no meaning, worries were nonexistent and insecurities had no place.

When she came back to her world, the feeling of peace was so strong. Nothing could knock her down. These people would someday have restitution for their dark days. She had no bearing over the way their lives were led and they none over hers. Only God would know how it would end.

She left the park with an extra big smile on her face. One of the park regulars asked, "Wow, where were you today?"

She answered, "In a secret place where you are cradled in the hands of God and love reigns supreme."

The man smiled back with a twinkle of understanding in his eye.

The End

Monday, May 7, 2007

Birthdays

I am convinced that birthdays (and holidays in general, for that matter) make the earth very unhappy. Oh the waste!! The packaging, unenviromentally friendly toys, wrapping, disposable eatware, ect...

I tried to make our gifts more practical and not very wasteful. Nothing had excess packaging that wasn't recyclable. I wrapped his presents in recyled paper, bags and cloth (or a combination of those).

Everything else...well..... As of now, most of DS's toys are unfindable, with pieces of things all over the house. Most of the toys kept him intrested for about 2 minutes. Our garbage is bulging with waste (I recycled everything that could be). Plus I can't remember who gave him what as the whole unwrapping process was a blur!!

I think for DD's birthday I'm going to say no presents (ok, I know the nannies will break this rule and I plan on getting her a couple things since it is a special day). I know it may be rude, but I may just ask everyone to give a litle money (like $5) towards a new bed or dresser. Heaven knows she needs no more toys or clothes!!! We're also going to have her party at the beach or park so people will generally have fun with out all the birthday trappings, as long as there's food. I am going to start looking for decomposable plates and cups. If I get plastic forks, I plan to take them home to wash and reuse.

It's sad to think how many birthdays happen every day and how much waste this must generate. Of course we are part of two families who love to go overboard with everything!!

(Disclaimer: I am glad we had DS's party and everyone had a blast. These are just my musings of how wasteful things can be. I want to find a balance between simplicity, conservation and fun for future birthday parties :) . Oh and Happy 5th Birthday, DS!! ).

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Around The House

I have been meaning to get back to this. I have changed my underarm regimine. The baking soda under the arms was making my skin peel. I was doing a little research and I found that some people use rubbing alcohol. I have found it to be very effective over the past week. I'm sure it will take a little longer to discover if it is effective for the long haul.

Going no shampoo is doing wonders for my hair. I just scrub a bit with baking soda when I shower, rinse well and towel dry. I find my hair is getting thicker and fuller as it is no longer falling out like it used to. I feel like I have a new head of hair!

I have talked to DH about going semi-TV free. We have cut out a LOT of TV watching, but I know we could do better. We're going to put our good TV and VCR/DVD player in our bedroom and probably get rid of the small/older ones. If it's not in our living room, we won't just sit around and watch. Sometimes we'll watch a show, which turns into a TV marathon or just TV in the background. It's something I want to change.

I've been doing a lot of simple things for DS's birthday party tommorow. I scrounged the house for napkins, plates, cups, ect... I wrapped some of his presents in stamped kraft paper and the rest wrapped in cloth tucked in reused gift bags. I made his cake (mom is supposed to bring an ice cream cake, but I have a feeling she'll forget). We're making games out of things around the house and we bought the buns al about 75% (still good; IL's are providing the BBQ food :) ). Im sure we'll have a great time! He's so exited as he's turning 5 this weekend.

LED Lights

I am very excited for the day to come that LED lights are the standard for home lighting. I was checking out how much the bulbs are to replace a standard household light fixure and you can find them online for about $15. I remember not so long ago CFL bulbs were about as expensive. I hope they go down in price to the point it's feasible to replace all our bulbs with them. LED is soooo energy efficient.

There is a lot of talk in Canada of making it mandatory that people must use CFL/energy efficient light bulbs. I am on the fence about that. I realize there are fixtures where they cannot currently be used. Many people worry about the mercury in them. Then there's the cost. I think there should be incentive programs but not force people to use them, or even have 75%. I wouldn't want the police raiding our home checking for outlawed light bulbs. I'm sure they have better things to do with their time ;)

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Great Site



Yesterday I took the kids on a nature trail and it was so nice seeing the signs of spring. Everything was budding and unfurling from their long winter nap. It will be nice to have the world awash in green again.

Here is a great site I found last night that I must share: www.cindysporch.net

" Welcome to Cindy's Porch! Grab yourself a cup of tea and pull up a chair. Are you ready to discover the treasures that are available in your home, your neighborhood, and within your family that cost absolutely nothing? This is where we learn to "DO instead of BUY". Where we "SHOP at home FIRST" and discover that "procrastination" can be our best friend when it comes to BUYing more stuff."

I printed off the sheets for creating an inventory for your food on hand. This is what is hard for me since we have soooo much.

I'm grateful that we don't have any debt. We've always been pay as we go kind of people. We do use our credit cards a lot, but we get hundreds of dollars back each year and we pay the credit cards off either right away or before any intrest is charged. We are planning on buying a house some day but hopefully with as little debt as possible.

I'm going to be busy the rest of the day cleaning, simplifying the kitchen and doing some batch baking. I'm making two lasagnas (one veggie and one southwestern), a few loaves of bread and cookies. If I get everything else on my great big list done, I will make some sweet bread quick mix to have on hand.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

A New Month

Hey, isn't this considered to be May Day? For a day that used to be considered the first day of summer, it's pretty cold and yucky out!

On MDC I have decided to participate in the No Spending in May challenge. It will be a challenge as we have a lot of events this month. Most can be worked around and I've already bought almost everything for DS's birthday (I think I just need buns and maybe another thing or two I may be forgetting, but I'm sure it won't make a difference). Most of the birthday's in the family are this month (including mind ;) ) and then there is Mother's Day.

Groceries and bills are exceptions, although I am still trying to cut down. I did some shopping yesterday and spent more than I expected. I bought some meat and it brought the amount way up.

My biggest challenge is DH. He is a worse spender than I am. He works in a grocery store at the mall, which means he is surrounded by spending temptation all day. I'll have to start getting him to leave his wallet/money and cards home. If we really need something, there's no reason why I can't go and get it. I think this will help us really define needs versus wants.